On Pace

Just get me to Benoit
I mentioned a few days ago that the 2011 Tigers picked up right where the 2010 team left off. That continues to be true.

Last season, the Tigers lost roughly 2 out of every 3 games on the road. After six road games, this team is 2-4, though last night's loss was an especially bitter pill.

Even with a makeshift lineup with Don Kelly, Santiago, and RyRay (Maggs, Peralta, and Inge got the day off), the bats provided an early lead. First it was 2-0. Then the Orioles tied it. The Tigers retook the lead at 4-2 thanks to an Avila homer and Boesch double. The Orioles again responded courtesy of a 2-run homer. But the Tigers continued their assault, securing a 5-4 lead in the top of the 7th.

That's when the trouble started.

Brad Penny started this game. He pitched about as well as you could expect - 5.1 IP, 4 ER. He put a few runners on base in the 6th inning, but Brayan Villareal relieved him and pitched out of the jam. It was a huge moment in the game. Little did we know that the rest of the Tigers' staff would blow the game open.

Heading into the bottom of the 7th, with a narrow 5-4 lead, Leyland was praying his bullpen could somehow just get three more outs. Then he could pitch Benoit in the 8th and Valverde in the 9th. Earlier in the day, the Tigers reported that Ryan Perry would not be available with a minor injury. With Zumaya already on the DL and Phil Coke now slated for starting duties, the Tigers had no regular pitcher with experience in the 7th inning set-up role. Would Leyland trot out Benoit for a 2-inning hold? Not this time. But after seeing his bullpen implode, he may reconsider.

Brad Thomas was the first lamb to the slaughter. He faced two batters. The first singled, and then Thomas walked the next. Leyland had seen enough. Thomas hit the showers and in came Enrique Gonzalez, a career minor leaguer who's averaged just 8 innings of work over the past four seasons. Gonzalez did get one out - a strikeout - but the next batter, Vlad Guerrero singled, scoring a run. Don Kelly compounded the damage by trying to catch the runner at home. To call Kelly's throw a bit off-target would be like saying Carl Lewis was a bit off-key. Kelly's error allowed the runners to advance to 2nd and 3rd. After an intentional walk, a sac-fly, and a double, the game was over.

The Tigers one-run lead turned into a 9-5 deficit. No Benoit. No Valverde. Just another ugly loss. And it revealed a massive weakness in the Tigers' roster. They've got no middle relief. For a team with such inconsistent starting pitching, that's a massive problem. The recipe against the Tigers will be pretty simple - drive up the pitch count of the starter. Foul off as many pitches as possible and get to that middle relief.

The problem with the middle relief stems back to the farm system. While Dombrowski has done a fine job of drafting quality arms in the early rounds, he hasn't had the success in the later rounds. As a result, the Tigers' pitching staff has no balance. It's composed of a handful of high-priced free agents (Valverde, Benoit), talented early picks (Verlander, Porcello, Perry) and castoffs. When Leyland's forced to rely on the castoffs, the team is in trouble. Guys like Brad Thomas and Gonzalez would have trouble making any major league roster, let alone a team that actually thinks it can compete. When guys like Perry and Zumaya go down, the Tigers expose their lack of depth.

For this season, there's really no solution to this problem. We can't expect Brad Thomas to suddenly become competent. He is what he is... and that's the guy you bring in to eat up the middle innings when the team is already down 6 runs. The only chance the team has to remedy this situation is to hope Perry and Zumaya stay healthy. Or perhaps they can land some trade that moves Coke back to the set-up role. I was surprised Coke was moved out of it in the first place. Leyland was just desperate for a lefty starter.

(Quick aside about Leyland... what manager rests his players after one week? His decision to rest Maggs, Inge, and Peralta didn't cost them the game -- that's squarely on the shoulders of the bullpen -- but it's just an odd decision. The season was five games old, and he's already resting his players? Just odd.)

So now the Tigers return home. If they keep on pace with the 2010 team, they'll win 2 out of 3. The forecast today calls for rain in the morning, but it's supposed to clear up by game time. Rain wouldn't dare spoil Opening Day - Motown's 2nd biggest holiday (after the NFL Draft) - would it?